front sway bar mount?

[bobokiller]

Hey guys this is my first post, so sorry if this has been covered before, I couldn't really find anything. Anyways -

I can't get my front sway bar back on after installing my new alternator. I was able to get the 2 bolts on the drivers side in without any problem, but on on the passengers side it's like the bracket doesn't line up with the hole for the bolts, it's pushed off too far up and to the right. Has any one else encountered this problem and could give me some help on what I can do to get this damn thing back on!? I'm sure this is very hard to understand, I'm fairly inexperienced with cars so I don't know how to word everything in the clearest way, so I apologize for that.

[Z-owned]

Kind of hard to understand your exact issue with what you wrote, but couple things. You said you have one side screwed in, i would keep the bolts loose so you have some play until you get both sides started. 2nd is the car jacked up in a way so that both wheels dont have any load on them? Cause this will cause the bar to have tension on it and be near impossible to move. Lastly and kind of obvious but i will say it to be safe lol the bushings can move on the bar/come off etc.

[300ZXttZMAN]

I'm willing to bet the OP's problem is that he/she torqued the bolts already on one side and didn't start the other side..

I had this same problem when I installed my tension rods. All we had to do was loosen them up a bit get all the bolts in then torque them down...

Don't forget about using just a dab of loctite.

[bobokiller]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies and once again sorry for the bad explanation. I took a pic of the issue to help show what my problem is.

http://imgur.com/PHqhP I know the picture is equally as bad as my explanation, but I can't get that damn bolt through that hole! I can manage to pull it over to the right enough, but I also need to push up on it to get it lined up. I got the car completely flat off the ground, and still no luck. I'm very inexperienced with cars so I don't know how to explain anything for you guys to understand :P

[300ZXttZMAN]

Yea try to loosen the bolt that you have tight, once its loose start both bolts at the same time then tighten them in a sequence..

Let us know how it goes.

[DankZX]

You may have to go really loose, as when the wheels are hanging, there is an immense amount of pressure on the sway bar, try jacking up both the wheels/wheels hubs to about where they normally sit. That should help.

[Nismovs]

When I pulled my sway bar I placed a jack stand under each control arm and used a jack to move the car up and down until the links met up. If you have wheels on the then just put some wood under them. And They all have it with putting the bolts in loose at the same time. You'll never get the other side in if you torque one side first

[ThisIsSparTTa]

I had a similar problem when replacing my rears, but I did do them 1 at a time, and tightened one side before the other. The other recommendations about loosening each side and making sure your wheels don't have load are good too. I got away with it by using a screwdriver style socket wrench as opposed to a normal socket wrench. That allowed me to really push into the screw to get it to match up with the hole the way it needed to be.

[bobokiller]

thank you guys for all the replies, I really appreciate it! I still haven't gotten that side bolted on after struggling for a few hours. just gonna take it to one of my mechanic friends and see what he can do.